Australia foils ‘terror plot’ to bring down airplane

SYDNEY: Australia foiled a “terrorist plot” to bring down an airplane with an improvised explosive, authorities said Sunday, after four people were arrested in raids across Sydney.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the plot appeared to be “elaborate” rather than planned by a lone wolf, as security was beefed up at major domestic and international airports across the nation.

“I can report last night that there has been a major joint counter-terrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane,” Turnbull told reporters.

“The threat of terrorism is very real. The disruption operation, the efforts overnight have been very effective but there’s more work to do.”

The prime minister added that the alleged plan appeared to be “more in that category of an elaborate plot.”

Several terror attacks have taken place in Australia in recent years, including a Sydney cafe siege in 2014 that saw two hostages killed.

Officials did not specify if the alleged plot involved a domestic or international flight, but Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported that a local route had been the objective.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin said four men had been arrested in a series of raids across Sydney on Saturday.

Colvin added that local authorities had received “credible information from partner agencies” about the claims but would not elaborate further or state if the men were on any watch list.

“In recent days, law enforcement has become aware of information that suggested some people in Sydney were planning to commit a terrorist attack using an IED (improvised explosive device),” he told reporters.